Final Showdown: Digitech Jamman VS. Boss Loop Station

I kinda hijacked an old thread with this debate. But my finacial aid refund came back, and I'm getting a looper either tonight or tommorow off Ebay. I've played through a Boss and I loved it... but then again... I hear great things about the Jamman.

My main concerns are live abilities. I'd like to gig at a few coffee houses maybe someday as a live ambient artist. But I'd also like something that can track rhythmic stuff really tight, because I want to jam with my drummer friend with a looper. Thoughts? The sooner someone makes up my mind for me, the sooner I get it? Get it?

well, after spending a few months with my rc-20, i'm interested in the jamman...

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Yeah, I'm curious if I should chip in the few extra bucks. My main concern is I heard rumor of a bit of a rhythmic lag that you have to compensate for with the RC-20. I don't know if it's a big deal. I want to know if the Jamman has dead solid time. Digitech has been a shakey brand in the past. Boss... they're pretty solid... literally. I know if I get the Loop Station I could throw it out my window and it would be fine.

i don't know about the rhythimic lag, i never noticed anything like that, but i don't really like the boss live, because i like to make the loop evolve, to which the boss can't do. Plus, in my group, we all just improvise, so, although i do have the 10 or whatever slots, i don't plan ahead, so i can only use one loop at a time. you have to hit stop, which brings everything to an abrupt halt, unless you double whichever part of the loop you feel the most important,while you delete it. plus, deleting loops is a pain because in order to delete the loop to make another one, you have to press down both pedals at the same time, which sucks because unless you hit them at just the right time, you will either start the loop over again, or it will delete. the rc20 is good if you have a plan.

but between the two, i'd do the digitech just because its different...coincedently, i am looking to get rid of my rc20, but that is for another thread!

I've had my RC-20xl for several months and if the Jamman was out then, I probably would have gone with it instead.

I like the idea it uses flash memory, has a USB hookup to the computer.

I'm still getting a little used to the RC, but it's mainly because I haven't had my stuff at the house and I don't use it much at all when practicing with our band right now, other than a little gain on my combo amp. I'll have my stuff at home for the next 2 weeks so I'll be hitting the looper practice rather hard. The thing I need to work on is stopping the loop correctly so it's on time.

Other than that, I love it. It's a great practice tool and I think you'll like the Jamman.

I have put a lot of time in on the RC-20 and never noticed any timing issues other than the ones that I induce. I'd love to get a DT Jamman next to it for an A/B comparison, but I don't think that is going to happen. The new RC-20XL has some really nice features too.

About the loop erase on the RC-20, you can step on both pedals and it will erase silently, meaning that if it is off it will erase without playing anything back. If you just stomp and hold the play/rec (left) pedal it will erase while it is playing.

I'm looking forward to hearing some user experiences with the Jamman, but (please don't take this the wrong way) I hope that you have more patience with the Jamman than you have with responses to threads. It takes a while to get up to speed on how any pedal operates, and part of that is developing the timing necessary to start and stop loops on time. That is the same regardless of what kind of looper you have. I've been looping for a long time and I know that I haven't figured out everything that the RC-20 can do. That is after owning a Boomerang, a Gibson EDP+, a DD-20 (still own it) and a Line6 DL4. They all have their quirks and they all demand something from the player.

I have put a lot of time in on the RC-20 and never noticed any timing issues other than the ones that I induce. I'd love to get a DT Jamman next to it for an A/B comparison, but I don't think that is going to happen. The new RC-20XL has some really nice features too.

About the loop erase on the RC-20, you can step on both pedals and it will erase silently, meaning that if it is off it will erase without playing anything back. If you just stomp and hold the play/rec (left) pedal it will erase while it is playing.

I'm looking forward to hearing some user experiences with the Jamman, but (please don't take this the wrong way) I hope that you have more patience with the Jamman than you have with responses to threads. It takes a while to get up to speed on how any pedal operates, and part of that is developing the timing necessary to start and stop loops on time. That is the same regardless of what kind of looper you have. I've been looping for a long time and I know that I haven't figured out everything that the RC-20 can do. That is after owning a Boomerang, a Gibson EDP+, a DD-20 (still own it) and a Line6 DL4. They all have their quirks and they all demand something from the player.

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Trust me... if I'm dropping $300 on something, I will do everything I can to make it work. I was impatient with this thread because... I want a looper now dammit! And I've wanted one now for about a year.

My main concerns are live abilities. I'd like to gig at a few coffee houses maybe someday as a live ambient artist.

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Do you know who brian eno is? I hope so for your sake, if not check him out. Also some other people you would like, Aphex Twin, autechre they have really changed my view on music al around. I wouldn't be as good as i am now if it weren't for brian though.

i don't know about the rhythimic lag, i never noticed anything like that, but i don't really like the boss live, because i like to make the loop evolve, to which the boss can't do. Plus, in my group, we all just improvise, so, although i do have the 10 or whatever slots, i don't plan ahead, so i can only use one loop at a time. you have to hit stop, which brings everything to an abrupt halt, unless you double whichever part of the loop you feel the most important,while you delete it. plus, deleting loops is a pain because in order to delete the loop to make another one, you have to press down both pedals at the same time, which sucks because unless you hit them at just the right time, you will either start the loop over again, or it will delete. the rc20 is good if you have a plan.

but between the two, i'd do the digitech just because its different...coincedently, i am looking to get rid of my rc20, but that is for another thread!

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Practice.

I used the rc-20 live a lot, and it got very easy. The only reason I would consider the digi is if it had better sound.

What made you get rid of the Gibson Echoplex Plus? I thought it was the do all and end all of loopers?

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It is an incredible piece of gear and I occasionally have regrets about moving it. The main reason was that it meant lugging a rack and a pedalboard, and at the time that was not practical for me. So I sold it and built my current board, which has a RC-20 and a DD-20, and I run them either in series or parallel on separate legs of an A/B switcher. While UNDO would be nice, the thing I miss is the feedback control. it would be nice to do layering and be able to fade out the earlier material. But, with the pedals in series I have found that I can approximate a medium feedback setting. The DD-20 does a decent sound on sound, but the tap tempo means that I can sample from the RC-20 with long delay times and it acts like decaying feedback. Then I can clear the RC-20 and start anew while the DD-20 fades the first loop out.

It is an incredible piece of gear and I occasionally have regrets about moving it. The main reason was that it meant lugging a rack and a pedalboard, and at the time that was not practical for me. So I sold it and built my current board, which has a RC-20 and a DD-20, and I run them either in series or parallel on separate legs of an A/B switcher. While UNDO would be nice, the thing I miss is the feedback control. it would be nice to do layering and be able to fade out the earlier material. But, with the pedals in series I have found that I can approximate a medium feedback setting. The DD-20 does a decent sound on sound, but the tap tempo means that I can sample from the RC-20 with long delay times and it acts like decaying feedback. Then I can clear the RC-20 and start anew while the DD-20 fades the first loop out.

I guess some players are more comfy with abusing stomp boxes....

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I think I got that. I was thinking about getting the Ecoplex, but I have the same dread of carrying all that gear.

For me, I think the RC-20 XL will be enough, but I'm going to wait to see reviews of the Digitech peddle.

fretlessrock is right...the one limitation of the RC20 is the lack of feedback control. like i said in my other post, you can't fade from one loop to another, you have to stop it, delete it, then start another, which i am not fond of. i was interested in the Jamman to see if it had a feedback control, or at least if it had a single button or footswitch assigned to deleting the loop, that would make it a little easier!